South Asian Business news and information

World Economic Forum published its second Tourism and Travel competitiveness report. It conducted a survey over 130 countries and Pakistan obtained 111^th position. Weak infrastructure, low efficiency level, ineffective marketing and branding, absence of a well-thought regulatory framework, constricted perception about tourism are some of the major weaknesses of the country’s ailing tourism industry.

The Daily Times reports:

Some of the other competitive disadvantages for Pakistan include the poor tourism infrastructure such as provision of competitive hotel rooms (110), available ATMs accepting Visa cards (110), the national and cultural resources (96) and the prevailing security situation (106) among 124 countries.

Despite showing many competitive disadvantages in the travel and tourism industry, Pakistan ranked well on the air (40) and ground transport infrastructure (39). The price competitiveness in the industry maintains a very viable position based on the low fuel price level (23), purchasing power parity (25) and the extent and effect of taxation (33). Pakistan will, however, like many other countries needed to focus on the sustainability of its natural environment.   

The data was collected from various public and private organizations and through interviewing various officials. 

WEF is a Swiss based non-profitable organization. In the face of growing importance of tourism sector as a major contributor to country’s economy, the organization has published the “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report” (TTCR) to gain in-depth idea about the condition and future potentials of tourism industry in various countries around the world. This is the second edition of the report. The competitiveness has been measured against 14 variables:

1. Policy rules and regulations
2. Environmental sustainability
3. Safety and security
4. Health and hygiene
5. Prioritization of Travel & Tourism
6. Air transport infrastructure
7. Ground transport infrastructure
8. Tourism infrastructure
9. ICT infrastructure
10. Price competitiveness in the T&T industry
11. Human resources
12. Affinity for Travel & Tourism
13. Natural resources
14. Cultural resources

Among all the South Asian coutries, India obtained the best position; 65. Sri Lanka 73, Nepal 116 and Bangladesh obtained 127th position.   

South Asian countries have enormous potential to become attractive eco-tour destinations. Most of these countries are not heavily industrialized. This is why, the forests and rivers in these countries can be found in pristine conditions. Countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal are already heavily dependent on tourism industry. What we need now is developing plans and programs, necessary infrastructure and human resources.

If you want to see the “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report” (TTCR), you should visit the following links:

http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/TravelandTourismReport/index.htm

http://www.weforum.org/ttcr08browse/index.html

Related article:

Daily Times